Building construction



June 24, 1930.

F. M. REUTEVR BUILDING coNsTRUcTroN Filed March 51, 1927 Patented June 24, 1930 .PATENT OFFICE FRED I. BEUTER, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS BUILDING CONSTRUCTION vApplication illed Iarch 31, 1927. Serial No. 179,798.

In certain city neighborhoods one can usually find a ,numberiof old frame buildings adjacent to which buildings of a modern brick construction have been built, thereby 6 not only tending to give the older wooden buildings an antiquated and dilapidated apf pearance, but, furthermore, tending to depreciate the value of said old buildings.

In order to obviate the above conditions 10 to a considerable extent this invention relates to improvements in building construction and more particularly in improving the fronts of old frame buildings and the like by covering the front of a building with a false front constructed of interfitting wooden face strips the exposed faces of which are covered with asphalt composition and have cemented or otherwise secured thereto strips of Water proof roofing material in the shape of the exposed surfaces of bricks to give the front of a building the appearance of a brick building of modern construction,

It is an object ofl this invention to provide meansswhereby the walls of Abuildings may 25 be given th'e`appearancev of brick walls by using improved intertting strips of lumber having the exposed surfaces thereof covered with asphalt Vcomposition and .havingstrips of water proof material cemented in the asphalt at spaced intervals to assume the appearance of a stri of bricks.

It is also an o ject of this invention to provide a building construction of simplified and inexpensive construction adapted to be used as a covering for the walls of old buildlngs to give said walls the appearance of a modern rick structure.

It is a furthercobject of thisv invention to provide an improved building material with a false brick surface of Water proof and lire proof material adapted to be used as an outer surfacing for the walls of buildings to give the buildings the appearance of brickstructures.

It is furthermore an object of this invention to provide an improved method of reconstructing old frame buildings to have the appearance of brick buildingsloy removing portions of the walls of the old building and then covering said walls by false fronts constructed of boards having strips of roofing material or the like cemented thereon by -means of an asphalt composition covering or the like.

It is an important object of this invention to provide an improved building material of inexpensive construction adapted to be readily mounted in place to serve as a false brick covering for old buildings after the finishing moldings and trimmings have been removed Iin order that the renovated building will have the appearance of a modern brick building of improved appearance, and, further- ,more, tending to uphold the real estate value ofthe same.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the specification and the accompanying drawings.

T is invention (in a preferred form) is illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter jmore fully described. y

O11 the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of an old building renovated in accordance with the practice of this invention and with parts partly broken away to show the original construction as well as the improved construction. l

Figure 2`is an enlarged fragmentary detail front view of a ortion of the improved false front of t e building.

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken o line III- III of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical detail section throughthe front of the building and through one of the windows on line IV-IV of Figure l.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail horizontal section taken on line V-V of Figure 1. y

As shown on the drawings:

The reference numeral 1 indicates the original wooden frontof an old building having decorative window casings and moldings 42 as well as decorative wooden cornice moldin s 3. In order to renovate or reconstruct-t e old building at a low cost in order Ato give the front of the building .the appearance of a modern brick structure, an

improved building material isprovided as follows:

The outer projecting window rosettes and moldings 2 together with the decorative cornice molding 3 and the like are first removed from the front of the old building after which a plurality of wooden risers 4 are nailed or otherwise secured in vertical parallel relation across the front of the building.

l. In order to give the buildin the appearance of a brick structure a alse front is secured to the risers 4. The improved front is of wooden construction made up of boards 5 having a groove 6 in one longitudinal edge thereof and a rib 7 on the opposite-longitudinal edge or face. This construction permits the boards 5 to interfit with one another, as shown in Figure 3, with the rib 7 of one board projecting into thegroove 6 of the adjacent board. The front face of ea'ch of the improved building boards is covered with an asphalt composition coating 8 orl other similar material which not only serves the purpose of a covering, but also serves the double function of a cement to which a plurality of rectangular face strips 9 of water proof and fire proof` material are secured in equally spaced relation-to aHord transverse-strips 10 between the false brick strips 9. The false strips 9 have the lower edgesthereof placed substantially flush with 'the lower edge of the boards 5, with the upper edges of the false bricks spaced 'a distance below the upper front ede of the board a distance equal to the wi th of the transverse strips 10, thereby affording a longitudinal strip across the upper front margin of each of lthe boards 5. The asphalt strips thus formed on the front faces of each of the boards have the appearance of mortar or plaster strips for holding the imitation bricks 9 in place. It will thus be seen that the improved building construction comprises a wooden board having one of the faces thereof treated with an asphalt composition to which false brick strips-of roofing material or the like are cemented or otherwise secured.

The improved false brick strips are adapted to be nailed transversely across the front of the building to the risers 4 to form the improved front wall 11 having theappearance of a brick wall. Positioned at intervals inthe false brick wall are decorative str-ips 12 and decorative medallions or blocks 13 of any desired configuration or design. The decorative strips and medallions 12 and 13 are constructedof wood or other suitable material and have the exposed fsur- `faces thereof painted or otherwise covered to ave the appearance of stone.

If the old building is of the store type having a store on the first oor the front said strip of Wood cemented in s aced edgewise relation to each other on the wood,'each with one of its horizontal edges substantially .strip of Wood.

of the store may be remodeled. to conform with modern store fronts.

It will be noted that the improved bullding strips vmay be manufactured 1n standard lengths and cut on the job to the lengths desired.

It will thusbe noted that the improved building strips of this construction havingv lfalse brick'strips cemented thereto by means of asphalt or the like afford a convenient buil'ding material ywhereby the fronts or` walls of old buildings may be readily reconstructed at'low cost by the improved method herein described so that the walls of the buildings will'have the appearance of brick walls including decorative or finishing strips of' imitation stone. The improved method and the improved buildin appearance of new brick buildings, t ereby Aimproving the general appearance of the neighborhood in which the buildings arefoundybut, if desired, the improved buitding material may also be used in new con- 'struction work as well as in the construction of fentes, pillars, posts,and,the like.

In the manufacture of the improved building material of this invention it will, of course, be understoodthat standard roofing or shingle material may be used by cutting the same into strips resembling bricks orl into pieces of any desired configuration and then securing said strips or pieces of material to the face of wooden boards by means 10 of asphalt or other suitable cementing material. Any desired 'color scheme-may be. used for the strips, of material. secured to the boards or said strips may be paintedl a. preferred colorafter the boards have beenf mounted in place and the wall of the buildin has been completed.

I am aware that many changes may be made, and numerous details of construction may be varied through a wide range with- 110 out departing from the principles of this invention, and I therefore de not pur ose limiting the patent granted hereon, ot erwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim` as my invention:

A building construction material comprising a strip of wood, a cementitious material coating one face of the said strip, and

strips of roofing material narrower than theI 20' flush with one of the horizontal edges of the In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto ,subscribed my naine at Chicago, Cook County,

Illinois.

'FRED ,MfREUTER- 

